Sentencing the bus driver, Judge Mark Horton said: "This was not an accident, it was an assault, deliberate dangerous driving.

"You used that vehicle as a weapon to bully and intimidate the cyclist who, in the end, was struck by that bus."

Hill was disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years and ordered to pass an extended driving test.

City council CCTV footage showed Mr Mead remonstrating with the bus driver before continuing his journey.

Seconds later, Hill, who had been been driving for Bugler Coaches for 10 months, overtook the bike before veering sharply right knocking the father-of-two onto the road.

Mr Mead was treated by paramedics at the scene, where Hill was arrested by police on April 5 last year.

Gerald Creed, managing director of Bugler Coaches, told the Bristol Evening Post: "We were deeply shocked when we heard of this incident and once we had established what had happened, Mr Hill was immediately dismissed as we did not want him driving one of our buses ever again.

"We are proud of all our drivers who are extremely professional and highly vigilant of the safety of passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.

"We can assure all passengers that this was an isolated incident by a driver that badly let down our company."